Klarinet Archive - Posting 000044.txt from 1995/12

From: Bob Yoon <st942100@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Copland
Date: Mon, 4 Dec 1995 11:10:09 -0500

Sorry for the lateness of this reply. I was busy all weekend.
The Copland happens to be my favorite work for the clarinet.
Unfortunately, I haven't heard any recording that completely staisfies me.
If I had to choose one, it would be Stanley Drucker's last performance of
the concerto with Bernstein. The orchestra playing is light years ahead of
any other recording I've ever heard. This was because, according to
Drucker, Bernstein kind of had a funny feeling that this would be the last
time conducting the concerto so he conducted it like a Mahler Symphony(if
you asked me, it was close to the 9th). Lots of drastic tempo changes and
very expressive. He started it extremely slow and the end was flying!
Looking at the score, especially the first "movement", it makes sense to
conduct it like Mahler, since a lot of the tempo changes and dynamics are
written into the score in a manner similar to a Mahler Symphony. I felt
that this unique interpretation was absolutely brilliant and executed in a
not surprisingly first class manner.
In order to respond to the comments on the jazz elements in the
concerto, I would like to say that I both agree and disagree with what
several of you had said. No, it's not a jazz concerto, but there are
elements of jazz that must not be ignored. Copland wrote this concerto
specifically for Benny Goodman. He studied his albums, and improvisational
ideas and incorporated them into the concerto. There was even one incident
where Goodman gave back the concerto stating that he couldn't play in the
range Copland wrote the ending of the work. Copland answered by stating
that he heard him several times playing notes that high. Still, this ending
was abridged(this ending is now at the Yale U. archives.). I digress. The
cadenza shows very strong influence of Goodman's playing. IMO, the
articulated arpegiated phrases(except for m.40-53 of the cadenza) should be
swung, maybe even articualted in the jazz idiom. In the second "movement",
measure 297, marked, "humor, relaxed" should be swung. The composer gives
blatant cues here on where to swing and where not to. The celli-bass
reduces to just pizzicato notes on beats two and four, the strong beats in
the swing idiom. This section of the concerto is interupted by a tutti
entrance and here the clarinet should play "straight" until it goes back in
the walking bassline. The rest of the concerto should be played like Copland.
Richard Stoltzman addresses the jazz issue, but he completely
overdoes it. Also, I can't stand his laser beam-like tone. The LSO with
Lawrence Leighton Smith isn't the greatest accompaniment you could wish for.
The Goodman recording with Copland and the Columbia Orchestra is very good
except it is a little dry, like many of other Goodman classical recordings.
One player even went up to Goodman and told him that he should be swinging
certain sections, but Goodman retorted sarcastically by asking him if He
wanted to teach Benny Goodman how to swing. Even Copland admitted that he
wasn't comfortable with this recording. In his autobiography, he states
that the second recording they made together in Italy(a really obscure one
at that) was light years better for it had realized the composer's
intentions with the piece. I did not like the Blount/Davis recording, Emma
Johnson's was all right, but I still haven't heard David Shifrin's recording.

Bob Yoon